India should open Luxembourg embassy, trade group says

22.10.2017

Bilateral trade between the two countries in 2015 was worth €45.82 million. India currently runs an embassy for Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union from Brussels.

Luxembourg needs firmer trade relations with India and the world's second-most populous nation should open an embassy in the Grand-Duchy, the head of the Indian Business Chamber Luxembourg (IBCL) said.

"The message from Luxembourg to India is we would like to welcome official representation," IBCL President Pedro Castilho told a gathering of around 500 people in Mondorf in south-eastern Luxembourg on Saturday night. "That means opening an embassy."

India currently runs an embassy for Belgium, Luxembourg and the European Union from Brussels. It was established in 1948 and is led by Ambassador Gairti Issar Kumar.

Castilho's comments came at a celebration of Diwali, the Hindu festival of light. It featured a Bollywood musical dance show from UK-based Karan Pangali and the KSPARK dancers. Attendees had a dinner that included paneer masala and yellow dal fry. There was henna painting, a magician doing tricks with people's cutlery and an altar for prayers.

"You can't ignore a country like India," Castilho said. "That is why I have launched Letz Go India. I want Luxembourgers to go to India."

India's projected population in 2016 was 1.3 billion people, United Nations data show, behind China's 1.4 billion. Its economy grew an annual 5.6% in the April through June period, according to government figures.

Luxembourg opened its embassy in Delhi in 2002 and has honorary consulates in Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai. Bilateral trade between the two countries in 2015 was worth €45.82 million, according to the Indian embassy's website.

About 17 Luxembourg companies operate in India. Cargolux, Europe's biggest all-cargo airline uses Chennai in southern India as its hub in the country, the embassy said. The Luxembourg Stock Exchange has been used by 74 Indian companies to raise capital for a total of €12.8 billion in global depository receipts, the embassy said.